


A Moment of Stillness

by Oblivion_Wanderer



Category: The Shape of Water (2017)
Genre: First Meetings, Gen, elisa is there but only mentioned, sort of a first meeting/encounter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-30
Updated: 2017-09-30
Packaged: 2019-01-07 01:41:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12223164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oblivion_Wanderer/pseuds/Oblivion_Wanderer
Summary: He was taken by the Humans, trapped and alone, but then, through the glass he sees one Human who seems different from the others.





	A Moment of Stillness

**Author's Note:**

> Title from the song 'A Moment of Stillness', by God Is An Astronaut.
> 
> So there's been a short clip circulating on tumblr, the same scene glimpsed at in the trailer. It's this and a drawing I did that made me think of writing that from our fish friend's point of view. I was gonna wait till later to start writing fic for this, but I really wanted to write this one at least.

The water that he was submerged in, that which surrounded him, was the only constant. Despite the way the water moved and sloshed around him with every movement of this container he was sealed in, at least the Humans had the decency to leave him within the water.

That certainly didn't excuse them from stealing him away from his home.

They'd trapped him, wounded him, taken him away; placing him inside this terribly small space. It was small to the fishman anyway, though the cylindrical, metal space stretched just longer than the length of his body. There was hardly enough room to move around. There was a glass barrier on part of it, but there was no light in here, making it somewhat difficult to see.

But still, he'd seen the faces; the faces of those Humans looking at him. They had looked at him with shock, revulsion, fear. They looked at him like he was some strange thing. The fishman felt uncomfortable under their watch, wishing they would go away and stop looking at him like they were.

He hated them. He hated them so.

The fishman was not sure how long he had been in this space, within the water contained in this tank. They'd tossed him in here and sealed him in. He'd tried to get out, but he knew he wasn't going anywhere and no one was listening to him.

It was lost on him how much time had passed or where he was now. They'd moved the tank, with himself trapped inside. They were taking him somewhere, that much he was certain of, but not of where they were taking him. The water around him moved erratically with each motion, dizzying him at first. He let out a weak sound when everything stopped moving and the waters calmed, though his attempt at rest was broken by an insistent tapping on the glass above him. He started at the sound and he saw above him a face of another Human. He'd seen that face before, and they were looking down at him with a sneer upon their lips; unkind and mocking. That Human the fishman especially didn't like. Then he was being moved again.

He tried to rest, to keep himself together, but it was hard to in the current scenario. This area was too closed in, and he could feel every echo of vibration or sudden movement. The fishman only was able to manage a small rest, though fitful. Not only was the space too small from his liking, and the movement unsettled him, he was still aching from when they hurt him in their trap.

He managed to curl up as much as he could in what room he had, wondering why these Humans had taken him and what they wanted from him. Eventually exhaustion from fruitless attempts at breaking free, a lack of food, and the uneasy movement of the water took him under into darkness.

When he woke again, everything had stopped. The water was calm.

Where was he now?

He let out a low noise as he came to his senses, and turned in the enclosed space to try and get some sense of where he was. He found the glass barrier, but it didn't help. He couldn't exactly determine anything.

And then something moved beyond the glass. A face passed by his field of vision; a Human face, but it wasn't one of his captors.

The Human moved along the length of the glass barrier, and the fishman watched them. They didn't tap on the glass loudly like that other Human and their face held no trace of malice. The Human was looking in the space with an expression of curiosity. They didn't exactly look like they were aware he was here under the water, it almost felt like this Human was looking at him. Maybe they were; maybe they had heard him and was now searching to see what was the source.

There was something different about this Human, both in their curious gaze and the way they gently laid a hand upon the glass. They were leaning closer, and the fishman could see them just a bit better. There was a hint of a smile on their face, and there was something kind in their eyes as they looked down at him.

He didn't know whether this Human was to be regarded as friend or foe, but maybe, just maybe, this Human, with such kind eyes, could help him.

Desperate, the fishman flung his hand up against the glass.

The Human flinched away, looking stunned, though they didn't move far away; just tore their hand back and stared down into the space where he was.

_'Help me! Please, help me!'_

He cried out at them, hoping they could hear. He doubted they could understand him, but if they heard him and recognized that he was in distress, then maybe they could help. No such help came though, not even as he banged his hand against the glass. He tried again, and again; this time managing to crack the glass a little.

_'Please, see me! Know I'm here! You have to-'_

But the water moved around him again, meaning the enclosure was moving. The curious Human was moved away from his line of sight as well.

_'No, come back! Come back!'_

But the Human was gone, and he was alone again. He wasn't necessarily alone, because he heard the voices of other Humans, but surrounded by them, he felt alone. Never mind wondering if that Human could have helped him or not, he was alone; a stranger in a strange land.

More like a captive in an unknown land.

The Humans placed a chain around his neck, the metal brushing uncomfortably against his gills. They tossed him into a pool, but attached the chain to the wall so he couldn't get far, even if he wanted too. He was trapped; at the mercy of the Humans.

So the fishman drifted submerged beneath the surface, feeling alone and afraid and lost.

He thought of the Human he had seen before, who hadn't looked at him like the other Humans had. Whoever that Human had been, he'd felt a brief fleeting moment of hope in their encounter. Somehow they had been able to cause that feeling in him.

But it was only for a moment...

It wasn't until later on that another curious Human would come by, and upon observing them- her; she had female Human features- he would learn this Human was the same one who had looked down into his previous containment, who had heard him. She looked at him with the same kind expression. Astonishment and wonder. She didn't look at him like he was a creature to be feared.

The Human that gave him hope, the one who had a silent voice, had returned to him like a guardian spirit.

And he learned her name as she spelled it with her hands.

E-L-I-S-A


End file.
